Paving, Patching & Repairs

Outside of new construction paving, there are 3 types of asphalt paving that occur: patching (roadway utility cuts or along freshly installed concrete and generally in conjunction with a maintenance application), overlay, and remove and replace.

Patching

Patching is necessary work when the roadway has been cut to insert utilities add new concrete or when sections of pavement have completely deteriorated. Patching in the roadways is self explanatory, but outside of this application, it is generally acceptable when only limited areas of the pavement has failed. Specifically, your lot has some defective areas but the rest is in good shape. Remove and patch these areas, crack fill the other remaining cracks over ¼” in size and sealcoat.

However, if your asphalt has “alligatored” (looks like scales on the back of an alligator) it is most generally past the patching stage. The asphalt failed because, over time, water was allowed to penetrate the asphalt through cracks and a worn surface. This water begins to saturate the subgrade and creates a soft bed for the asphalt to move upon when traffic moves over the top. This movement further breaks up the asphalt allowing more water and more deterioration. Water is the worst enemy of asphalt! If your lot has reached this point, the best option is to pulverize or mill and replace. For budget constraints, an overlay may be applied but in short order (within a year or two at most) those cracks will reflect through your freshly overlaid lot. Other detriments to asphalt that can cause conditions similar to above are heavily oiled or stained pavements. These areas will most likely need to be patched/addressed prior to additional maintenance measures.

Overlay

Overlays can be performed on asphalt when the asphalt has met its intended life but has not failed or alligatored (see above). Generally speaking, candidates for overlay are in good structural shape and have a sound sound sub-base/grade. In this option, the edges of concrete must be milled to maintain water flow and any utilities adjusted to meet the new surface. With the recent developments in fiber-reinforced asphalts, this option has the potential to add some more years to the life you would expect out of a normal overlay.

Remove & Replace

At this point, the asphalt has deteriorated and/or water has been allowed to seep into the subgrade creating an unstable foundation. First step is to completely remove the asphalt either by tractor, milling machine, or pulverization. Step two, requires making amendments or changes to the base by removing material and bringing in more stable material or using the pulverized material to make a solid foundation for the new pavement. An engineering firm should be consulted to ensure suitability of materials and proper compaction of the proposed base is achieved. In conjunction with step two, any changes to concrete or drainage of the project should be addressed. Once these steps have been completed the final step is to repave your newly reconstructed asphalt parking lot or roadway.

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